1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for loading an implantable medical device onto a delivery device and, particularly, to systems and methods for loading a valve prosthesis onto a delivery catheter.
2. Background
Patients suffering from valve regurgitation or stenotic calcification of the leaflets can be treated with a heart valve replacement procedure. A traditional surgical valve replacement procedure requires a sternotomy and a cardiopulmonary bypass, which creates significant patient trauma and discomfort. Traditional surgical valve procedures can also require extensive recuperation times and may result in life-threatening complications.
One alternative to a traditional surgical valve replacement procedure is delivering the replacement heart valve prosthesis using minimally-invasive techniques. For example, a heart valve prosthesis can be percutaneously and transluminally delivered to an implantation location. In such methods, a heart valve prosthesis can be compressed or crimped on a delivery catheter for insertion within a patient's vasculature; advanced to the implantation location; and re-expanded to be deployed at the implantation location. For example, a catheter loaded with a compressed heart valve prosthesis can be introduced through an opening in the femoral artery and advanced through the aorta to the heart. At the heart, the prosthesis can be re-expanded to be deployed at the aortic valve annulus, for example.